It’s still January (just barely). I’m back to the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking quest after a busy and tumultuous holiday season. Also, I started my non-exec and ‘consulting’ job. But that’s in my parallel universe. Here, it’s all about that bread.

I was trying to be methodical and start at the beginning of the cookbook but I fell at the first fence. The first chapter is ‘breakfast’. It’s essentially pancakes, waffles, crepes and granola. The problem here is that the Davinator prefers savoury breakfast – unless it’s a croissant and then he’s all over it with the butter and jam. So, I parked the first chapter until I have keener ‘consumers’. Maybe pancake day…..

I’ve jumped to the quick bread chapter which has twelve muffin recipes. And decided I must go in strict order. So, it’s ‘Sour Cream Muffins’ to start. Here we go.

I have, however, a couple of minor criticisms of the KA Whole Grain Baking cookbook.

The first is that in their quest to make whole grain taste good, the recipes call for an array of specialised ingredients. A few of these are practically impossible to find in the UK – so if I can’t get it, I’m assuming readers will be unable to source. I’ve decided to ‘substitute’ those difficult ingredients. If substitution doesn’t work, I’ll punt on those recipes until I can get my hands on the real thing. One thing I couldn’t find -‘white whole wheat flour’. I tried a mix of white and whole wheat flour and that came out fine in this recipe.

The second is that the recipes are tailored to American taste buds. After I’ve made them the first time, I start reducing the sugar. In some recipes, I’ve cut the sugar by 1/3. I’m careful with this because sugar also affects the basic chemistry of baked goods, beyond making it sweet.

I made these muffins with frozen blueberries and I suspect they would be fine with any frozen or fresh fruit. My frozen blueberries (from Sainsburys I confess) were on the large size, so I would probably try smaller berries or smaller pieces of fruit the next time.

Recipe

Ingredients – makes 12 muffins

150 grams (5 ounces) whole wheat flour

140 grams (4 1/3 ounces) plain white flour (not self raising)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

55 grams (2 ounces, 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

180 grams (6 1/3 ounces) of sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225 mls (8 fluid ounces) of sour cream or full fat greek yoghurt

220 grams (8 ounces) frozen blueberries

Instructions

1. Combine the first five ingredients; flour to salt, in a bowl. Stir together.
2. Put the melted butter in the bowl for your mixer. Add the sugar. Beat to combine (don’t you love the melted butter trick).
3. Scrape down the bowl, beat in the eggs one a time and combine well.
4. Add the vanilla and the sour cream. Beat until incorporated.
5. Add the dry ingredients from step 1. Mix on low speed until just combined. (Do not overbeat quick bread, it will punish you).
6. Stir in the frozen fruit. Make sure that the bottom of the batter has mixed in properly.
7. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour. You could leave it longer but I think the frozen fruit will deteriorate if you leave it for too long.
8. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) (375F).
9. Prep a muffin pan with paper liners lightly coated with non-stick spray or grease the tin.
10. Fill the muffin pan – I use my ice cream scoop. Put a generous scoop full in each muffin cup.
11. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes. They will look lovely and brown on the top when complete.
12. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then tip out to cool on a rack or on the counter top. Don’t let them cool in the tin; that’s how they get hard crust on the sides and bottom.

Enjoy. One recipe down, eleven to go.

Sourdough starter – 3 different flours.

Two sticks rubbing together make a spark. Two casual questions gave me an idea. Someone asked me a great question – what ‘order’ am I going to cook the recipes in.  And then my stepdaughter Faye asked about sourdough bread because it’s the artisan bread of the moment and she said ‘the best bread I’ve ever eaten was sourdough’.  My daughter Clare (when she eats carbs) also loves sourdough.  So I’m starting with the sourdough.

Sourdough is bread made from a live ‘starter’ as the leavening agent rather than using purchased yeast or a chemical leaven like baking soda or baking powder.  It is the heritage of bread.  Yeast occurs in nature. Before yeast came from the store in cakes or a tiny tin – cooks had a ‘starter’ for bread.  It’s flour and water that has captured wild yeast and started to ferment.  There a lots of good blogs on sourdough starter.   Here’s one from Kitchn that worked for me.  I also carefully read the King Arthur Flour Sourdough Guide.  There is a good section in cookbook on working whole grain levain (the fancy name for a starter).

I’ve jumped in with both feet and have white, rye and whole wheat starters on the go.  It’s a hurry up and wait feeling though – it’s a week before there will be any bread.

Does that mean there hasn’t been any baking? Get away.  I made these Champagne Strawberry Cupcakes and the brioche recipe of the Tour de France food blogger, Jonathan Harris-Bass.

Technically ‘strawberry prosecco cupcakes’ but you get the idea.

Yes, there is a sports writer and foodie who is blogging a recipe a day for the duration of the Tour de France.  I can’t ‘cook along’ with him and actually have any kind of normal life or doing any of my own baking.  But he’s making me so homesick for France that I’m resolved to try some of his recipes.  This brioche recipe got the thumbs up from the Davinator.  Brioche is the best way to misuse eggs, butter and flour.

Brioche and it’s not burnt, it’s glazed on top.